Sucker-rod elevator.



No. 68l,937. Patented Sept. 3, IBM.

6. M. SPINK.

SUGKER BOD ELEVATOR.

(Application flied Mar. 28, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OASSIUS M. SPINK, OF OYGNET, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES E.WOLFE, OF SAME PLACE.

SUCKER-ROD ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 681,937, datedSeptember 3, 1901.

Application filed March 28; 1901. Serial No. 63,289. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CASSIUS M. SPINK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cy net, in the county of Wood and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Sucker-Rod Elevator, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to means for elevating sucker-rods out ofArtesian and oil wells, and has for its object to prevent accidentaldisplacement of a sucker-rod from the elevator-clamp when thehoisting-cable is slacked for any purpose whatever.

With this object in view the present invention consists in thecombination and arrangement ofparts, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointedout in the appended claim, it being understood that changes in the form,proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of theclaim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an elevator deviceconstructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention. Fig.2 is a plan view thereof with the stem dropped into a horizontalposition to permit of the engagement and disengagement of a sucker-rod.Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the fork members of thestem or handle. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the stem or handle droppedinto a pendent position and locking the sucker-rod against displacement.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of thefigures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the handle or stem of thepresent elevator,which is provided at its lower end with the fork 2 andat its opposite upper extremity with the terminal swiveled eye 3 forengagement with the hook of a hoisting-cable, whereby the elevator is tobe raised and lowered. Each member of the fork is provided with aterminal bearing-eye 4 for the reception of the pivot pins orprojections 5 of the fiat wrench-head 6 commonly employed with thepresent type of elevator. The wrench-head has the usual slot 7, whichopens outwardly at the inner side of one of the bearing-eyes and has itsfront wall cut away at the outer end thereof to form a lateralentrance-opening into the 5 5 slot for the reception of the angularportion of the sucker-rod 8, which has the usual annular shoulder orcollar 9, that rests upon the upper side of the wrench-head in the usualmanner.

The foregoing parts are common and well known and have certaindisadvantagesas, for instance, when a length of a sucker-rod has beenelevated, disconnected,and lowered until its lower end strikes theground the hoisting-cable becomes slack and permits of the stem orhandle 1 dropping downwardly at one side or the other of thewrench-head, thereby clearing the open end of the slot in thewrench-head and permitting of the sucker- 7o rod falling out of theslot,to the danger of the workmen and the adjacent machineryandapparatus. This accidental displacement of the sucker-rod also takesplace when the wrench-head is rested upon the top of the well-tube andthe cable is slacked, thereby causing considerable annoyance andexpense.

It is the essential object to obviate this accidental displacement ofthe sucker-rod when the hoisting-cable is slacked and to lock the 8osucker-rod in whichever direction the stem or handle may fall, and tocarry out this object an 'arcuate flange 10 is formed integrally uponthe inner side of the fork member that is next to the open end of the.slot in the wrench-head and arches over the adjacent bearing-eye 4 andthe pivot-pin 5 of the wrench-head. This flange is substantiallysemicircular in shape, and its opposite end portions form guard orlooking projections 0 that lie at opposite sides of the bearing-eye andextend downwardly to at least the lower half of the eye. In theoperative position of the elevator, as shown in Fig. 1, one end portionof the flange lies within the open end of 5 the slot in the wrench-head,thereby closing the slot and preventing accidental displacement of thesucker-rod from the slot of the wrench-head during the raising andlowering of the same. Should the hoisting-cable become slacked and thestem or handle dropped to one side or the other, one end portion of theflange will be in the slot, .for should the stem fall to the left theflange merely turns down into the slot, and should the stem fall in theopposite direct-ion to the right the op.

posite end of the flange will be swung downwardly beneath thewrench-head and then upwardly into the slot, as shown in Fig. 4:,

thereby closing the open end of the slot in the same manner. Thus theslot is closed normally and also when the stem or handle has dropped toeither side of the wrenchhead. To facilitate the engagement anddisengagement of the sucker-rod, the flange arches over the upper sideof the wrenchhead, so that by swinging the stem or handle to the rightand into a substantially horizon-- WVhat is claimed isi In a sucker-rodelevator, the combination of a forked stem, the fork members of whichare provided with corresponding bearings, a wrench-head pivoted in thebearings and pro vided with a slot extended endwise between the forkmembers and having an open end located adjacent to one of the bearings,and an arcuate closure-flange upon the inner side of the fork memberwhich is adjacent to the open end of the slot, said flange beingsubstantially concentric with and arched over the adjacent bearing, withone end portion normally lying within the open end of the slot andclosing the same, and the flange also being constructed to turn throughthe slot when the stem is being swung upon its pivotal connection withthe wrench-head,whereby the slot is maintained closed during the swingof the stem.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GASSIUS M. SPINK.

Witnesses:

S. A. SMITH, GEO. F. CROUCH.

